WARWICKSHIRE batsman Ian Westwood is delighted to be back in the runs – and sure that his return to form has come because he is back in the ranks.

After two years as Bears captain, Westwood resigned the job last winter to concentrate on regaining his batting form – which had suffered badly amid the pressures of leading the side.

The second of those years, in particular, was stressful as the top order, headed by Westwood himself, endured a record-breakingly poor time of it in mid-season.

And it has been a long haul back for the 28-year-old, who even dropped down into the Second XI earlier this season in search of runs.

That move worked for him as two centuries in a match against a strong Nottinghamshire Second XI sent him back to the Firsts fully rebooted.

An excellent 129 against Somerset was the result – and now Westwood just wants to keep quietly churning out the runs while long-time team-mate Jim Troughton shoulders the burden of captaincy.

“Last year was difficult for all involved, not just myself,” he said. “This year it is different. The brain is still working and I am still thinking about games but it is nice not having all the eyes looking at you and asking what are you going to do now?

“The down side is that I have to stand at short-leg again!

“I am happy just to get stuck in and do what is asked of me. It is different to the last couple of years but that is how I wanted it.

“Cricket captaincy is so much about hindsight. You can do the right thing and it goes wrong and people say why did he do that?

“There are a lot of ‘what ifs’ and I think it is just important that you go with your gut instinct. Jim has started well and it is a job that, certainly on the pitch, you get more comfortable in as you go.”

It would be an exaggeration to say Westwood reflects upon his stint as captain with unmitigated pleasure. He ended it utterly drained.

But he can take pride in two seasons in which Warwickshire were the best 40-over team in the country and, in the championship, maintained their First Division status, albeit last year only by virtue of a great escape.

“There were so many highs and lows last year,” he said. “And the lows were really low during the middle period where we just couldn’t score a run.

“But to come through it was huge credit to all the guys. Lesser teams would have capitulated but we stood up and won enough games to still be in this division and, because we did that, this season we have a chance of pushing for the top places.

“If we keep playing the way we have been in the championship we can challenge.

“We have some ambitious guys in the team who not only want to further their careers and play for England but win some trophies. I am certainly one of those and there is no reason why we can’t. We have beaten some good sides.

“We are there or thereabouts and this is the kind of position we wanted to be in at this stage with a chance to push for the title.

“We have got ourselves in that position and we still have to play Yorkshire and Hampshire, who are down there, twice so we have got a chance and that’s all we can ask for at this stage.”

The resurgent Westwood had a scare on Friday when was injured in a pre-play warm-up football match.

He sprained ankle ligaments turning on the Arundel outfield but should be fit for the next championship match – at home to Sussex starting on July 20 – and is hungry to remain part of a team moving in the right direction.

“What’s good this year is that we have got competition for batting places so that if someone is struggling a little bit they can just nip to the Seconds for a game or two to get some time in the middle and get some confidence back,” he said.

“Last year we were crying out for that opportunity but with not much depth in the batting we struggled to do it. It certainly did me the world of good.”